Imminent Threat
by FreyOfDavis
Summary: When Kei and Yuri are recruited to find an international criminal, they soon discover that all is not as it seems. Finished!
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the Dirty Pair, original or Flash. If I did, I'd bring the TV series to DVD in Region 1!

The story uses the characters from the ten-episode OVA series.

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Yuri rushed down the hall, her long hair streaming behind her, and people staring curiously after her. She found the entrance she was looking for and opened the glass doors. She barged right past the startled desk clerk, into the massive 3WA gym. "Kei!!" she shouted.

Several men and women were using the weight machines, stationary bikes, and treadmills. All of them heard Yuri, and knew what her tone of voice meant. They immediately dispersed, deciding that they'd had enough exercise for the day and should find something to do somewhere else. The gym emptied quickly, leaving only Yuri and one red-headed figure, bench-pressing a pair of large barbells. Yuri stood on front of the redhead, who of course was Kei, her partner.

Not that Yuri wouldn't have wanted to change that last part sometimes.

"I don't believe it! You're always doing this! We were supposed to be in the chief's office ten minutes ago!"

Kei paid Yuri no attention, focusing on her exercise. "Three-hundred fifty-seven, three fifty eight."

"You know, I'm actually glad. Maybe now the chief will get me a new partner, and you'll get a job that suits your talents: assistant security officer on an unmanned garbage scow!"

Up and down the barbells continued to go. "Three hundred eighty, three hundred eighty one."

"Kei, are you even listening to me?"

"Three hundred ninety-eight, three hundred ninety-nine, four hundred!" Kei put the barbells down and sat up, clasping her hands over her head in a sign of victory. "All right! A new personal best for the Lovely Angel Kei! Oh, hi, Yuri. How long have you been standing there?"

Yuri's left eyebrow took on a distinct twitch as she looked at her partner, dumb founded. "Didn't you hear a word I said?"

"Uh, well, no. What's up?" Kei stood up and grabbed her towel to wipe off her face.

"Never mind! Just get changed! Hurry, hurry!" Yuri said as she pushed Kei to the locker room. She waited outside as Kei got out of her workout clothes. "You are really amazing, Kei. The meeting with the chief just totally slipped your mind, didn't it? Genetically enhanced memory, my butt."

"I wonder if I have time for a shower."

"No, you don't have time for a shower! Just get dressed and let's go! We're fifteen minutes late!"

"OK, OK." Kei stepped out of the locker room, dressed in her standard uniform. "You really should chill out, Yuri. Sounds to me like someone's in need of a boyfriend."

"The chief is going to kill us, and you're making cracks about my personal life? Which is none of your business, by the way." They stepped out of the gym and ran towards the chief's office.

"Oh, don't worry about the chief. It'll be fine."

They got to the chief's office and said a breathless "Hello," to his assistant, who let them right in. They stood in front of the large white desk. "Sorry we're late, chief," said Yuri, who then nudged Kei.

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that," said Kei with a sheepish expression.

Chief Gooley, Kei and Yuri's immediate superior, looked up from the report in front of him and said, "Oh, hello, Kei and Yuri. It's fine, you're right on time."

"But," said Yuri as she and Kei sat down, "the briefing was supposed to start twenty minutes ago."

The chief smiled. "Well, I might have been a little off. I knew you'd be late, so I just told you to be here twenty minutes ago."

Kei nudged Yuri. "See? I told you it would be OK."

The chief hurriedly moved on before Yuri could decide she was angry at his fib. "Do either of you know much about the Kingdom of Ikaria?"

"Isn't it close to the Republic of Huja?" asked Kei.

"And didn't the republic have some sort of trouble recently?" asked Yuri.

"Correct on both counts." Gooley touched a control on his desk, and a map of the Hujan region of space came on the viewscreen, showing the Hujan Republic and the much smaller Kingdom of Ikaria. "Ikaria is a small planet, and has been a monarchy ever since it was colonized. Huja is its neighbor and number one trading partner. The trouble was an assassination," Dooley touched the control again and a picture of a sixtyish man with a distinguished look came up, "of this man, Tomas Schwarz, the president of Huja."

"Oh, right," said Kei. "That made the news vids for a week."

"I'm surprised you remember," said Yuri.

"Well, it pre-empted the zero-g wrestling championships."

Gooley continued. "The assassin was caught, but the hit was ordered by this man." A new photo came up, of a man in his forties in casual clothes, walking down a street. "Vido Zulga, head of the Amarnut syndicate."

That made Yuri sit up a little straighter. "The Amarnut syndicate controls criminal activity across half the galaxy."

"Correct. We've been after this guy for a long time, but he's slippery. Apparently, he never sleeps in the same place twice, and doesn't stay in the same system for more than a week. The Huja republic had been conducting a war on his organization, making life very difficult for his people. That's apparently why he ordered the assassination."

"But what does the Ikaria kingdom have to do with this?" asked Kei.

Just then, a buzzer sounded on Chief Gooley's desk. "Ah, perfect timing. That, Angels, is where the fourth member of our meeting comes in." He touched another control. A man's face came on the viewscreen. He was in his fifties, clean shaven, and in a large and important-looking office. "Ladies, let me introduce you. This is the current president of the Republic of Huja. Mr. President, allow me to present the Lovely Angels, our top trouble consultants."

"Well, I'm mighty pleased to meet you ladies. I asked Mr. Gooley for the best, and darned if he didn't deliver."

The Lovely Angels were unused to such praise. Yuri was almost glowing. "Thank you, Mr. President."

"Did Gooley fill you gals in?"

"He told us about Vido Zulga and why you want him, but how does Ikaria figure into all this?"

"Well, we have prime intelligence that says he's hiding out in the Ikarian kingdom, laying low while we're looking for him. We would send our own people in, but our relations with that planet aren't all they should be, and we, that is, my advisors and I, felt it might be better if we passed the ball to the 3WA for this one."

Chief Gooley spoke up. "I informed the president that he could count on our complete cooperation. Zulga is an interstellar criminal, exactly the sort of person 3WA was designed to deal with."

"So, what do say, Miss Yuri, Miss Kei? Can you go to Ikaria and capture this man for us?"

Both Kei and Yuri stood up. "Just leave it to us."

"Excellent. I'll have my people forward all the intelligence we've collected. Once you've got him, let us know and we'll take him off your hands for trial."

"Sounds like a simple enough job," observed Yuri.

"But remember, girls," the president cautioned, "time is very limited. He never stays in one place for very long, so do whatever it takes to find him fast. It may turn into the kind of job my daddy called 'a quick and dirty.'"

Yuri looked at her partner, then back at the president. "Mr. President, the Lovely Angels specialize in 'quick and dirty.' We'll have your man delivered right to your door. Count on it."

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Several dozen light years away, on the 17th floor of the large office building that served as the headquarters for the Interplanetary Mutual insurance company, the manager in charge of the 12th district, which included the planet Ikaria, suddenly dropped his pen and sat up in his chair. His assistant noticed this and was concerned. "Are you all right, sir?"

The manager recovered and picked up his pen. "I'm fine, Henry. I just got this sudden chill down my spine for some reason."

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The dialogue for the Dirty Pair is so much fun! This chapter practically wrote itself. Hope the rest of the story goes the same way.


	2. Chapter 2

The spacecraft Lovely Angel touched down on the main runway of the only large airport on Ikaria. It taxied to its assigned space. In the cockpit, Kei shut the various systems down as Yuri went to the back to grab the documents that they were given before they left. Kei looked up as Yuri came back. "Mughi still asleep?"

Yuri nodded. "I swear, he could sleep through a supernova."

Kei went back to looking at the surroundings. The airport seemed smaller now that they were on the ground. "Man, what a Podunk place."

"Oh, it's not that bad. We've been to worse places."

"Not many. Anyhow," Kei turned back to her partner. "where do we start?"

Yuri handed Kei some of the printouts. "Well, it looks like we have our pick. Amarnut does a lot of business here. Drug manufacturing, prostitution, off-planet gambling. And," Yuri flipped through the pages until she found the one she wanted. "It looks like Ikaria is a major transshipment point on their smuggling routes."

"What do they smuggle?"

"Everything worth smuggling, apparently. Look." Yuri handed Kei the sheet.

Kei read though it. "Drugs, weapons, toxic materials, exotic animals, people… So, pretty much anything that will turn a profit?"

Yuri nodded. "By some measures, they're the largest corporation in the galaxy."

Kei looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah."

Yuri looked at her partner. "What? What's wrong?"

"I just don't like this business about not cooperating with the local authorities. Not sharing info is going to make our job a lot harder, and they're going to be pissed if they find out we're working here without their knowledge."

"I don't like it either, but you heard the president. Corruption is rampant here, all the way into the Izarian royal court. We just don't know who's on the syndicate's payroll. We don't know who to trust."

"Damn it, doesn't the 3WA have any contacts here?"

"The Ikarians are suspicious of outsiders. No one's been able to cultivate significant contacts in over ten years."

"Except for the Amarnut."

"Seems that way."

Kei went back to looking at the ceiling, but only for a second. "Well, we may as well get started. What do you want to hit first?"

"Well, the syndicate owns a warehouse just outside of the airport, where they store smuggled items mid-shipment."

"OK." Kei got out of her chair, went to the back, and nudged their giant cat Mughi awake with her foot. "Mughi, watch the ship while we're gone." Mughi responded with an impressive yawn. Kei went to the now open cabin door, where Yuri was waiting. She checked her gun and other equipment. Satisfied, she looked at Yuri. "Let's go to work."

The interior of the warehouse looked like the interior of any warehouse. Any warehouse, that is, that had been hit by a level 5 plasma storm and then been attacked by a battalion of Space Marines.

Yes, the Dirty Pair had gone to work.

Amidst the overturned crates, spilled contraband, and unconscious men, Yuri and Kei were interrogating the one man still able to talk. Yuri was asking questions while Kei had him in a headlock.

"Don't you know that smuggling is illegal? I swear, what are they teaching in schools nowadays?"

"Gimme a break, would ya? I made the pay off this month!"

Kei tightened her hold. "Do we look like the local cops, genius?"

"OK, OK!" the man blurted out through a contracted windpipe. "Entrepreneurs, huh? All right. We're a little short on cash, but take that big case over there. It's worth fifty grand easy!"

Yuri looked behind at the plastic crate. It had been knocked over like the rest, but otherwise intact. It appeared to have a climate control regulator, indicating a sensitive, and likely high value, cargo. Yuri turned back to their prisoner. "We're not pulling a shake-down. We want information." She nodded to Kei, who relaxed her hold a little.

The man started breathing more normally. "OK. Whatever you want to know. Just be cool!"

"We'll all be cool, if you answer one question." Yuri leaned in closer. "Where's Vido Zulga?"

"Who?" the man asked, and then let out a squeak as Kei choked him again.

"Vido Zulga, dumbass! You have heard of him, right?"

"Course I've heard of him! Everybody's heard of him! But he ain't here!"

"We know that already! Where is he?"

The man didn't answer. Not because of any absolute, death-before-dishonor loyalty to the syndicate, but because Kei had now increased her grip and was completely cutting off his oxygen. Yuri didn't say anything, just looked on in mild interest as the man turned blue. "All right, Kei. Let's see if he'll give us an answer now."

Kei let him go, and he dropped to the ground, gasping for air. He looked up at Yuri. "I gave you an answer. He ain't here, and I don't know where he is. I don't have an open invitation to his beach house, OK?"

Kei grabbed him from behind again, with her arm against his throat. "You know, we really don't like smart alecs."

The man grabbed at Kei's arm, for all the good it did. "I said I don't know, and I don't frigging know!"

Yuri leaned in close again. "All right, who would? Who's your boss?"

"Him." The man nodded his head toward one of the unconscious bodies. Seeing Yuri's look, he said, "Hey, don't blame me! I'm not the one who beat the crap out of him!"

"You want to join him?" asked Kei. "Tell us what you know! Now!" She started tightening her hold again.

"All right! All right! He gets his orders from someplace downtown. They say what comes in and what goes out! We just do what we're told!"

"Where downtown?"

"Some office building in the plaza! I've never been inside, but the boss showed it to me once, said if we ever got into trouble, that was the place to go." When Kei gripped him harder, he said, "That's all I know!"

"What office building?!"

"The Rubinia Building! Tallest one in the whole city! You can't miss it! Syndicate owns the whole thing."

Yuri nodded, and Kei released him, then hit him sharply on the back of the neck. The man collapsed onto the floor, out like a light.

Yuri sat down. "Well, do you want to try and wake the boss up, see if he can tell us anything else?"

Kei looked over at the boss. "I guess. Man, what a pain! Uh, Yuri," she said, looking back at her partner, "is that crate supposed to be blinking red?"

"Huh?" Yuri looked at the crate she was sitting on. "Hmm." She looked at the readings on the environmental monitor. "Kei, this isn't just an environmentally controlled canister. It's a cryogenic pod."

"Really?" Kei stepped forward to get a closer look. "Can you tell what's inside?"

"Not from these readings. Whoop!" Yuri stood up quickly as the lid came up. "The de-hibernation process must have been triggered when it fell." Kei and Yuri looked inside.

They saw a large, gray, rounded block. Neither spoke for a moment, until Kei said, "Oh, just what every home needs. A rock."

Yuri looked closer. "A breathing rock, it looks like. Kei, I think this is some kind of animal."

"Yeah, I think maybe you're right. Is it waking up?" Kei stepped back a little.

"Kei, don't worry! I know what this is! It's a Kardachan rockbeast."

"OK. So?"

"So, they're herbivorous and very docile. Completely harmless." Yuri reached out to stroke the beast's back as she continued. "They're protected on their planet. They must have been shipping him to a—"

Yuri was interrupted as the animal burst out of its box with a roar. Its six padded feet made a large thumps as they hit the floor. The Kardachan rockbeast is an unusual animal, superficially looking like a large lizard with six legs and a gray complexion, but with a very tough hide, making the skins highly prized. It stopped and sniffed the air, its tail whipping around in annoyance. It noticed Kei, and charged. "Whoa," yelled Kei as she rolled out of the way. She got to her feet as Yuri rushed over. Kei glared at Yuri. "You had to pet it, didn't you?"

"I don't understand. I read all about them! They're not aggressive!"

"Well, I guess this one didn't like its nap being disturbed," said Kei as she reached for her blaster.

"Kei, no!"

"I don't care how rare it is! I'm gonna shoot it!" Which she did, repeatedly, as the beast charged them again. All of the shots bounced off the stony hide, and Kei and Yuri had to scramble out of the way. The rockbeast ran into some crates, demolishing them. As Kei shot it again, it made a noisy dash for the open door at the loading dock and ran off into the sunshine.

Kei looked at Yuri. "OK, Ms. Expert. How do we stop that thing?"

Yuri was looking around. "Now, they must have had—there!" Yuri ran to a corner and picked up a tranquilizer rifle from where one of the warehouse employees had dropped it. "We can use this."

"Uh, Yuri, if laser bolts couldn't penetrate it, how in heck is a dart going to get through?"

Yuri checked the gun to make sure it was loaded. "Well, it is vulnerable in its abdomen. We have to hit it in the underbelly."

"The underbelly?"

"Don't worry, I have an idea."

"Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?"

Kei and Yuri had caught up with the rockbeast. It was roaring and thrashing around, extremely annoyed. Kei was on the back of the rockbeast, having lassoed it with her lariat, and was now hanging on for dear life.

Yuri was on the ground, maneuvering around the beast, trying to get a good shot and cheering Kei on. "Ya-hooo! Ride 'em, cowgirl!"

Kei's arms felt like they were being pulled out of their sockets. "Would you just shoot the thing already?!"

Yuri hefted the weapon to her shoulder, waiting for the right time. When the beast reared up on two legs, she saw her chance, and fired.

The beast came back down in all six legs to protect its belly, but it was too late. It stopped its thrashing, and Kei jumped off. It tried to walk, but only managed to stagger a few steps before it collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Kei came over to the sleeping animal. "Well, I guess it worked."

"Yep," said Yuri proudly, holding up the rifle so that the barrel was pointing at the sky. "Just call me Francine Buck. I bring 'em back alive."

"Who?"

Yuri sighed inwardly. "Never mind. Old Earth history. Anyway, looks like we wrapped this up with minimal damage."

Kei put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Uh, Yuri, look behind you."

"Huh?" Yuri turned around, and saw what the rockbeast had managed to do. "Oh, no! Not again!"

It had taken several minutes to find and subdue the rockbeast, and in that time, it had managed to turn several warehouses into wreckage and trample at least a dozen cars and trucks into scrap metal. As the two took it in, another building collapsed, completing the destruction. "But this isn't fair! It's not our fault! I can't believe this happened to us again!"

Kei squeezed her friend's shoulder reassuringly. "Well, at least there were no deaths this time. I hope." Kei then heard something familiar in the distance. "Uh, Yuri, maybe we should get going."

Yuri cocked her head, listening. "Are those police sirens?"

"Yep."

"Off we go." Yuri led the way as they left the area. "Do you think they'll be able to take care of the rockbeast?"

Kei thought of all the trouble it had caused her and Yuri. "Oh, they'll be fine. Let's check out that building downtown."


	3. Chapter 3

One week later:

In Muktara, the capital of Huja, the president was posing with group of teenage essay contest winners for a photo-op. The photographer took several pictures and the president was shaking hands with some of the winners when his aide came in. "Sorry for the interruption, sir, but the King of Ikaria is on the Green Line. He says it's urgent."

"All right, fine. Tell him I'll be just a few minutes." As the aide left, he said to the students, "Sorry, kids, but duty calls. He's been bugging me to buy those magazine subscriptions for months now." This little joke brought several appreciative smiles and chuckles from the teens as they were politely escorted out the door. After they had left, he sat at his desk and pressed the green button on the console. The viewscreen dominating one side of his office came on and His Royal Majesty, Defender of the Three Rivers, Keeper of the Gem of Iumir, Josephus the Third of Ikaria appeared. The president gave his best friendly smile. "Your Majesty, what can I do for you?"

The king was obviously under a great deal of strain. "Mr. President, is this line secure?"

"Of course it is, Your Majesty," said the president as his aide came in, out of the king's field of vision. The president made a barely perceptible hand gesture to the aide to stay hidden from the king.

"Forgive me, Mr. President, I know you take your security seriously, but it is of vital importance that this be kept on a need-to-know basis."

"I understand that, no offense taken. Now, what's this all about?"

"Mr. President, it is nothing less than a disaster! Starting about a week ago, various trouble spots have been popping up all across our planet. It started when the center of our capital suffered the collapse of our tallest building, followed by fighting in the surrounding area."

"Fighting by who? Terrorists?"

"We suspect some sort of criminal gang. No one has claimed responsibility."

"Some sort of criminal gang. Could this involve the Amarnut syndicate?"

"The building that collapsed was the suspected headquarters of the syndicate in the area. We strongly suspect some rival group is attempting to take over here."

"Your Majesty, surely your own forces can handle this."

"But that was only the beginning! The next incident was in the neighboring city of Funja, where a toxic waste spill caused a cloud of batrazine gas to cover the metropolis. We had to evacuate the city and surrounding area."

"Well, what makes you think that this spill and your collapsing building were connected?"

"The Amarnut syndicate also owned the warehouse where the toxic substance was stored. The day after that, street fighting and looting broke out in two other areas, and just two days ago the central control station for our weather satellites was destroyed. Since then, we've experienced civil unrest in every major city, thousands of casualties, and serious breakdowns to the transportation system. We are facing collapse of the planetary government! It would mean civil war!"

"Well, what do you want from us?"

"Mr. President, as the leader of the people of Ikaria, I formally request military and humanitarian assistance. My world is caught in the most dire crisis it has ever faced."

"You're asking us to assist you in restoring order across the entire planet. That's a lot to ask, Your Majesty. It would mean sending troops."

"I understand that, Mr. President. The situation has grown beyond the capacity of my government to handle."

"I'm not sure you do understand, Your Majesty. Now our armed forces are the equal of anyone's in the galaxy, but this sort of duty isn't what they're used to. I'd have to send in the troops to restore order across the planet, and they aren't trained as policemen, they're trained to kill the enemy. It's possible there may be casualties, especially if your people don't know we're there to help them."

"I will make an address to the people. I will let them know that you are here on a humanitarian mission and they are not to offer any resistance. Of course, you'll have the full cooperation of our armed forces."

"Well, Your Majesty, you know we're fighting all over the galaxy in our campaign against the Amarnut. Quite frankly, we're spread kind of thin."

"Mr. President, please. Our planet is your nearest neighbor. Our fight is your fight. And once order is restored, perhaps we can find a way to deal with the Amarnut."

The president didn't miss the monarch's choice of words. "Perhaps?"

"Perhaps. But nothing will happen if we can't put an end to this chaos."

"Right." The president punched two buttons on his desk and checked the file that came up on his screen. "Your Majesty, the fleet battleship McCarthy is on maneuvers near our common border. With your permission, I can send her to patrol your space and beef up your external defense."

"That would help, Mr. President, thank you."

"As for ground forces, let me talk to a few of my generals. I can get back to you in, say, four hours?"

"Very well, Mr. President. I will be waiting for your transmission."

"I'll talk to you soon, Your Majesty."

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The Lovely Angels were in their ship, in conference with Chief Gooley via interspace tachyon transmission. Gooley held up a small plastic bottle. "Angels, do you know what these are?"

"Anti-acid tablets, Chief," Kei and Yuri answered in unison. They had seen this bottle before.

"Yes. Do you know how many I've taken in the past week?"

"Uh, a lot?" Kei asked.

"Correct again. Now, listen carefully, because this is the big question. Do you know why I've been taking so many?"

"Look, chief, we're sorry that—", Kei began before the chief cut her off.

"Do you know why I've been taking so many?"

"No, Chief Gooley, why have you been taking so many?" Kei asked in resignation.

"Because I'm disappointed in myself."

Kei and Yuri looked at each other, caught a bit by surprise. "Why's that, chief?"

"Because, a week ago there was a small planet with a stable and thriving, albeit backward, society on it. Then you two arrive. Today, that very same society is no longer stable, no longer thriving, but instead is on the brink of absolute collapse and anarchy. I'm disappointed in myself," the chief took a deep breath, "because I was actually surprised by this turn of events. I actually fell prey to the delusion that maybe, just maybe, this time it wouldn't be quite so bad."

"Chief, you know how the media overhypes everything. It's really not that—" said Yuri, but the chief wasn't listening.

"I mean, it's you two. Every single mission of yours has ended up in disaster. Why did I think I could go against fate?"

"Chief, I wouldn't say every single mission—"

"I suppose we should be happy that the planet itself is still intact. Or was breaking it apart into asteroids next in your agenda?"

Kei and Yuri remained silent. They knew that nothing they said would make this any better, and it was best just to let the chief get on with his rant.

Fortunately, it looked like Chief Gooley had finished. He took a deep breath, and then asked, "Anyway, were you at least able to find Vido Zulga?"

"Chief," said Yuri, "we rousted every single Syndicate hang-out we could find. Plenty of Syndicate goons, no Zulga."

Kei spoke up. "Yeah, according to everyone we talked to, he hasn't been around for at least six months. Of course, he's very good at staying hidden, so that doesn't mean he wasn't here."

Gooley stood up and walking around a little, as he always did when he was pondering a problem. "I suppose Hujan Intelligence could have gotten it wrong, but they're usually very good, and the president was so sure."

"So, what now, Chief? Do you want us to keep looking?"

"Oh, no!" Gooley sat back down as he remembered he was still angry with them. "Stay right where you are! Am I correct in assuming that the airport you're parked at is still more or less in one piece?"

"Oh, sure, chief. It's fine."

"Good. Do whatever you have to to keep it that way. Hujan forces will be arriving in a day or two."

"A day or two?!" Kei burst out. "What's happening, an invasion?"

"The Republic of Huja, at the request of the Ikarian government, is sending troops in to restore the order you two have so efficiently destroyed. They've asked for you to stay and share what you've learned, and I figure it's the least you can do, considering they're pulling your butts out of the fire! So, until further notice, you are to remain on Ikaria and assist the Hujans in any way they need. Understood?"

"Yes, Chief." The viewscreen winked out.

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	4. Chapter 4

One week later.

Kei walked through the city in her street clothes. She was later than she expected, and hoped that she could still find Yuri. Yuri had said she was going downtown, but Kei hadn't heard from her since, and her call to Yuri went unanswered.

Kei stopped at a street corner as a column of armored vehicles passed by. The Hujan army, with a little help from the Lovely Angels, had been able to reestablish order fairly quickly, with not much backlash. Of course, there had been a few demonstrations against the occupation, at least one of which had turned into a riot, but generally the populace accepted the situation and went on about their business. A few of the old timer non-comms among the Hujans were worried that things were too quiet, but agreed that the occupation was pretty good duty so far.

By the time Kei reached the downtown checkpoint, night had fallen. She showed her ID and pass to the two soldiers. As they looked over the documents, Kei saw two more in the guard shack. One of them was scanning the crowd with an infrared scope.

"Here you go, ma'am." The taller soldier handed back her documents. "Things are pretty quiet tonight, but watch yourself. A pretty lady like you, walking all alone, might attract the wrong kind of trouble, so stay away from dark places, OK?"

Kei put her papers back in her pocket. "I'm pretty good at handling the wrong kind of trouble, but thanks. Have you seen another girl, about my age, a little shorter than me, with long, dark hair, come this way a little while ago? Her name's Yuri."

"An offworlder? Kind of flirty?"

"That's her."

"Yeah, she was here about half an hour ago, asking if I knew of a happening night spot. I told her the Red Onion. It's a dance club a few blocks down." The soldier pointed to the west. "It's a pretty popular place with the guys."

"Sounds like her kind of hangout. Thanks." Kei went to find her friend.

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Kei entered the club. It was pretty typical with a large dance floor, a DJ and a bar along one wall. Dance music was playing and a good number of people were on the dance floor. She spotted Yuri right away, having a drink at the bar and looking depressed. Kei idled up. She ordered a vodka martini, and then looked at Yuri. "You know, isn't it usually me that's sitting and staring at the rim of a glass?"

Yuri took another sip from her rum and coke. "Yeah, I guess it usually is."

Kei sat down on a barstool as her drink arrived. She handed the bartender her debit card. "So, what gives?" she asked her friend.

"It's just so depressing. OK, we don't exactly have a stellar reputation at 3WA. OK, we usually cause some damage in the pursuit of our missions. OK, maybe in a few cases, planetary scale damage." Yuri looked at Kei. "But no matter what happened, we always got the bad guy in the end. We finished the mission."

Kei nodded in understanding, taking a sip from her own drink. "Until now."

"Exactly! Now, we're being bailed out by a bunch of mud marines. This sucks."

"Oh, c'mon, it wasn't our fault. Intel probably just got it wrong."

"That doesn't help much." Yuri finished her drink and set her glass down. "Where've you been, anyway?"

"I had sort of a working dinner with Sergeant Shriver."

"Really? Isn't he the cute one from the 87th squad? Spill it, Kei!"

"Uh, weren't you in a horribly depressed funk two seconds ago?"

"Well, when you get a new boyfriend, it's a cause for celebration."

"He's not a boyfriend. We're going on patrol with his group tomorrow and he wanted to go over some things."

"Haven't you noticed, though, that he keeps finding excuses to talk to you?"

"Oh, c'mon." Kei took another sip of her martini as she watched the people on the dance floor. "You know, maybe if you got on the dance floor, it might help your mood."

"Way to change the subject. But," Yuri said, looking around at the people, "you're right." Yuri looked at Kei. "I'll dance if you do."

"What?!"

"Oh, don't be so uptight." She grabbed Kei by the hand and pulled her onto the dance floor.

"Uh, Yuri, you know I hate it when you force me to dance."

The song had finished, and now the newest dance mix, heavy on the base, came over the speakers. Yuri started dancing. "I also know you like it once you get started. Just trust me, OK?"

The song was one of Kei's favorites, and she reluctantly started dancing too. After a few minutes, she was loosening up and getting more into it, trying out some sexier moves along with Yuri. Thirty seconds later, the dance floor was crowding with guys, all trying to get as close to the two girls as possible. Yuri nudged Kei. "See?"

Kei looked around at all the young men, and said to her partner, "Well, this should get you out of your gloom."

As the song was ending, Yuri spotted someone and pointed him out to Kei. "Hey, look! It's Shriver." The young sergeant was at the bar in his army greens enjoying a beer.

"Oh, yeah, so it is."

"Well? Go and say hello."

"We just had dinner together."

"Yeah, army chow at the barracks going over plans and schedules. So romantic. Go and buy him a drink."

"Sure you'll be OK without me?"

"Go!"

Yuri watched as Kei walked over to the bar and talked with the handsome sergeant. After making sure Kei wasn't chickening out, she went back to dancing with her new entourage.

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"Really? You made sergeant that fast?" Kei had indeed not chickened out, and wasn't feeling nearly as nervous as she thought she would.

Shriver nodded. "I've been to college, so that helped. I was promoted to sergeant to fill the vacancy when the old one left."

"Was he transferred? Or retired?"

"Retired. Early. Our platoon was in the Kior asteroid belt."

"Oh." Kei had talked to enough veterans to know that they usually preferred not to talk about their combat experiences. "Sorry." She took another sip from her drink.

"Whoa, I didn't mean retired like that. Gunny made it. He's back home. Just with a few more metal parts in him than he used to have. Anyway, after he left, the LT tasked me with the job. Been playing den mother ever since."

"Do you like it?"

"It's a job. Good duty."

"Whoa!" Kei winced as the music suddenly got louder. She looked over at Yuri, who was talking with the DJ. She had obviously worked her charms on him to convince him to pump up the volume. Kei glared at her. Yuri responded with an innocent shrug as she went back to her admirers.

"I'm not a good dancer."

"Huh?" Kei turned back to Shriver.

"I said I'm not a good dancer, in case you were going to ask me."

"No, no, not to this stuff. This techno-beat is Yuri's choice, not mine." The two were practically shouting to make themselves heard. Kei got up and led Shriver to the other end of the bar, where the music wasn't quite as loud.

Shriver leaned in close. "I know a place a few blocks from here that makes a good local equivalent of coffee. I think they're still having their reopen-for-business celebration."

Kei could feel the music pounding on her skull. "Lead the way."

"Just give me a second."

As Shriver walked over to talk to his corporal, a black man who was one of Yuri's admirers, Kei spoke to Yuri on her implanted communicator as the song ended. "Yo, Yuri."

"Hey. So, things seem to be looking up for you."

"And for you as well. Can't you at least narrow it down to half a dozen?"

"Hey, they're just friends."

"Right. Handsome guy friends."

"Speaking of handsome guy friends, where are you going?"

"Just someplace for coffee."

"You'll be back home by midnight?"

"Yes, mother."

"Because you have to get up early for school."

"Knock it off! You're starting to creep me out."

Yuri giggled. "Just remember we have work tomorrow."

"You too. Bye." Kei signed off as Shriver came back. "Everything OK?"

"Fine, I just passed the word for everyone to be back at the barracks by curfew." He opened the exit door for Kei, and they walked out into the cool night. They turned onto the sidewalk and passed a group of off-duty soldiers. They had walked a few feet when the bomb went off.

Kei felt Shriver fall against her as they were thrown by the blast, and closed her eyes instinctively as she felt the wave of heat. She found herself on the ground, with Shriver's body on top of her. She rolled him off and sat up. A car was on fire, and the car just behind it had been blasted into twisted wreckage. People were lying all around, some of them moaning, some of them quiet. The group of soldiers that Kei and Shriver passed had been hit hard, having been closest to the car bomb when it went off. Kei saw three who were obviously dead, and the rest were on the ground and unconscious. She heard a moan as Shriver came to. He rolled a little and Kei saw a large piece of metal in his back on the lower right side. She rolled him to his side, and noticed his arm flopping, mangled from the blast. His hand and face had burns. "Tim, can you hear me?"

He looked at her and muttered something incomprehensible.

"Just hang on! I've got you." Kei ripped the sleeve from her blouse to use as a tourniquet and tied it around his arm.

"Kei!" Kei looked up to see Yuri running toward her. Other soldiers from inside the club had come out too, and the corporal was shooting orders. "Is that…?

"Yeah. He's still alive, but I don't know for how long. We need help, Yuri!"

Yuri was about to respond when she was interrupted by laser fire. "Sniper!" someone shouted, and everyone scrambled for cover. Kei and Yuri hefted Shriver behind a nearby car. The laser fire was coming from a building across the street. Kei looked around and saw the corporal, behind a concrete bench, clutching his arm. Kei drew her pistol and fired at the building as she scrambled over to him. She ripped off the other sleeve of her blouse and used it as a bandage. The wound didn't look bad.

Kei looked at the corporal. "Can you and your men give us some cover fire?" she said over the sound of laser beams.

"With what, spitballs? We didn't bring any weapons!"

"Kei!" Kei looked at Yuri, her own gun drawn, her other hand pointing down the street. Some soldiers had come and were liberally spraying the building with rounds. Even better, an armored personnel carrier was behind them and its gunner was readying his heavy gun for action.

"Take care of Shriver," Kei ordered the corporal. She looked back at Yuri. "Now's our chance, Yuri! Go!" They ran across the street as fast as they could while the sniper was occupied. They burst into the building and found a stairwell. They cleared the room quickly and started running up. Kei was in the lead. "I saw muzzle flashes from the fifth floor, 4th window from the left."

Yuri was right behind her. "Me, too."

"I guess we have our target, then." They reached the fifth floor and stopped. Kei nodded to Yuri, who opened the door quickly. Kei leaped into the hallway and looked all around. No one. "Clear," she whispered to Yuri, who came in and took the lead. They moved quickly, but on the balls of their feet to keep the noise down. The gun on the APC was now firing explosive rounds, helping to cover their approach. Yuri got to the door and placed herself on one side of the doorway, with Kei on the other side. The door was an old-type with knob and hinges, and it opened inward. Yuri counted with her fingers to three, and Kei kicked the door in.

She saw a crouching figure with a laser rifle at the window. He turned at the sound of the door. He was wearing a dark cloak, and his face was covered by a protective mask and vision goggles. Kei took aim and fired, hitting him in the shoulder. Yuri's shot hit him in the other arm, and he dropped the rifle. Still standing, he fumbled one-handed for something on his belt as the Lovely Angels rushed him. They knocked him down, hard, and Kei grabbed the item. Yuri rolled him and pulled his hands behind his back as Kei held it up to look at it. "Check it out, Yuri," Kei said as she showed it to her. "Grenade."

Yuri had secured the prisoner's arms with a snapline. "He was going to blow himself up?"

"Yeah, and us with him."

The prisoner had started squirming. "Ouch! Let me go! That hurts!"

"Huh?" Yuri pulled the mask off. "No way! It's a kid?!"

The boy couldn't have been more than twelve years old, with brown eyes and a thick head of blonde hair. His hatred was obvious as he spat at them. "Stupid Hujers. Get out of here! This is our planet!"

"Son of a – ow!" Kei flinched as a searchlight brightened up the whole room.

A voice came over a loudspeaker. "You in there! Throw down your weapons and surrender!"

Kei went to the window to give the all-clear signal as Yuri sat the boy up. "Why were you shooting at us?"

"You would have to ask, Hujer. Maybe you think the whole galaxy is yours by right, but not here!"

"We're not Hujans. Now tell us—" Yuri was interrupted by the arrival of armed Hujan soldiers, their guns at the ready. They stopped when they saw Kei and Yuri.

"You two OK?" the lead soldier, a Lieutenant, asked. Seeing their nods and the bound boy, he told his radio man, "Tell Command we're all clear here, and that we're bringing in a prisoner." To Kei and Yuri, he said, "We'll take it from here."

Two soldiers moved in to take custody and they pulled the kid to his feet. "Easy! He's wounded," said Kei.

They marched him out into the hall, where a figure pulled him away and slammed him against the wall. He was the wounded corporal. "You bastard! I lost buddies because of you!"

The lieutenant reacted first. "Corporal, stand down!"

The boy was still defiant. "Go ahead and kill me! I'm not afraid to die!"

"Really?" The corporal put one hand on the boy's neck. It was large enough to wrap almost all the way around it, and the corporal began to squeeze. "What say we find out?"

The soldiers grabbed him and managed to pull him off. The boy collapsed to the floor in a fit of coughing. As the corporal struggled, the lieutenant yelled in his face. "Corporal, I said stand the fuck down! Now!"

Ingrained military discipline kicked in, and the corporal stopped. "Yes, sir," he said with a hard edge in his voice. The soldiers looked at their lieutenant, unsure of whether to let the corporal go or not.

The lieutenant talked in a quiet voice. "Now, we're going to take this prisoner to get his wounds treated, and then we're going to take him to a detention area and get him cleaned up. You're going to go back downstairs and see to yourself and your men. Any problem with that?"

The corporal stood at attention. "No, sir."

"Good." The corporal nodded at his men, who released the corporal's arms. "Now go. Take care of your guys."

"Yes, sir." The corporal went off, and Kei intercepted him.

"Sergeant Shriver! How is he?"

The corporal shook his head. "It's not looking good. The ambulance is down there now."

"Yuri?" Kei looked at her partner, silently asking for permission.

Yuri waved her hand. "Go. I'll stay with the kid."

Kei and the corporal headed downstairs to the street. When they got there, they saw Shriver being loaded onto an ambulance. "I'm going with him," Kei said to the corporal, who nodded and headed toward his men.

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Kei dragged herself back to the Lovely Angel as the sun was coming up. She triggered her communicator. "Mughi, let me in."

The hatch opened, and Kei saw Yuri, still wearing her clothes from the previous night. "Hey."

"Hey. Did you just get in?"

"Ten minutes ago. How's Shriver?" Yuri asked as Kei came in.

"Stable." Kei went into the main compartment and flopped onto the couch. "They had to take off his arm."

Yuri sat down on the couch, too. "Oh, Kei. I'm sorry."

Kei was looking at the ceiling. "Yeah." After a short silence, she said, "Chivalry."

"Huh?"

"Shriver put himself between me and the street. His father probably taught him to do that, to show proper respect to a lady, you know, how some cultures do? That way, when the bomb went off, he was between me and the blast."

"Kei…"

"That way, when the bomb went off, all I got were a few scratches and he got a bunch of shrapnel in his side, second degree burns, and an arm that is now in a bio-waste container." Kei shook her head, still staring at the ceiling. 'Stupid."

Yuri didn't know what to say.

Kei finally turned and asked, "Did you get anything from the kid?"

"A lot of threats about how his crew was going kick our asses back to the Hujan homeworld."

"Confident little twerp."

"He may have reason to be. Did you hear about the other attacks?"

Kei sat up. "What other attacks?"

"I guess you didn't. All over the city, and in a few others. All in the past ten hours, all targeting Hujan soldiers. Snipers, bombings, assassinations. The whole military's in an uproar."

"Whoa. Coordinated attacks. Someone's been planning this."

"Looks like the rebuilding of Ikaria is going to be tougher than people thought."

"Wonderful. What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?"

The communications monitor beeped. Yuri went to check it. She came back in a few minutes. "That was the chief. He wants us back at headquarters."

"What, is he afraid for our safety? He knows we can take care of ourselves!"

Yuri shook her head. "It's not that. Apparently, he's found something."


	5. Chapter 5

Back at 3WA headquarters:

Kei was at her desk talking to her communicator screen. "So how are you doing?"

Sergeant Shriver smiled at Kei. His head was bandaged, he had a tube in his good arm, and his other arm ended in a bandaged stump above the elbow, but all things considered, he looked pretty good. "Not bad. The food is actually better than you might think."

"Has your family visited you?"

"Yeah, they visit every day, fussing over me. You know how it is."

"I guess."

"Hey, you know who visited me yesterday? The gunny!"

"Your old sergeant? How is he?"

"Still getting used to his new legs, but claims to be able to kick my ass anyway."

"I wouldn't put that to the test if I were you."

"I won't. Turns out this was the hospital they brought him to when he was injured."

"How's the arm?"

"It itches sometimes. They warned me about phantom limb syndrome, but it is seriously weird. Yesterday morning, I caught myself drumming my fingers on the bed. Just absent-mindedly, you know? Then I looked down, and I realized I didn't have any fingers to drum. The feeling was so real."

"I'm sorry, Tim."

Tim smiled again. "Hey, don't worry about it. My next arm comes with a factory guarantee." Kei smiled as well. Tim leaned in a little closer. "Listen, Kei. I know I'm not quite the man I used to be, and this situation is, well, kind of awkward. But I'd like to… Well, I mean, if you want to… I'd like to see you again. I know the long-distance thing makes it hard, and I still have rehab, and—"

"Tim."

"Huh?"

"Yes. I'd like to see you again too."

"Oh. Well, that's good. Um…"

Kei started giggling, and Shriver followed, and they were just sitting, laughing, when Yuri appeared in the doorway. They got control of themselves as Shriver said, "Oh, hi, Yuri."

"Hi, Sergeant, how are you?"

"Fine." He looked at Kei. "Better than fine."

"Good." Yuri looked from the monitor to Kei. "Kei, it's time."

"Right. Sorry, Tim, got to go." She blew him a kiss as she got up.

"Go get 'em, tiger." The screen went blank.

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Kei and Yuri were in the chief's office. He handed them a print-out. "This article was from this morning's Muktara Mirror, one of the most respected newspapers on Huja."

Kei read the title. "New revelations about Ikaria collapse."

Yuri read aloud, "In the wake of rising violence on Ikaria, numerous sources now say that agents of the 3WA, code-named the Lovely Angels, a.k.a the Dirty Pair, were sighted on the planet in the week before the collapse."

Kei continued. "When asked about these reports, the president's press secretary would neither confirm nor deny them, but added, 'If the Dirty Pair were there, you can see why we had to take action.'" Kei crushed the paper in her hand. "That bastard! He sold us out!"

Yuri was a little confused. "So things are going south on Ikaria, and the president is using us for political cover?"

Kei was still fuming. "This is ridiculous! He's the one who asked us to go in, and we've got the transmission to prove it!"

Chief Gooley touched a button on his desk. "Not quite." A replay of the original transmission from the president, with the sound off, came on screen. "When we had this conversation, something seemed off. I didn't think much of it at the time, but a few days ago, after the Hujans intervened on Ikaria, I sent it out for analysis." He paused the playback. "This," he said, pointing at the impeccably dressed figure on the screen, "was not the Hujan president."

"What?" asked Kei.

"It was a virtuon. Someone uploaded the president's appearance and speech patterns into an AI program and told it what to say. When you talk with it via trans-space communications, it is indistinguishable from the real person."

"So if we go to the press with this…"

"They'll analyze it, see it's a fake, and we look like we're incompetently trying to cover our asses. And the transmission was bounced off a few different stations, so we can't prove this came from Huja."

"So we're made the scapegoats, and he looks like the man who saved the planet. From us."

"But if he went to all that trouble," said Yuri, "then he must have been preparing for this."

"I think it goes further than that." Gooley turned off the monitor and leaned forward on his desk. "Did you know that he asked for you specifically?"

Kei and Yuri looked at each other. "No way," said Yuri.

"Nobody asks for us," said Kei.

"Exactly," said the chief. "It seemed strange to me, too, but when I asked, he just said that you were the best, and he wanted the best."

"You think he set this whole thing up?" asked Kei.

"To have an excuse to invade Ikaria," said Yuri, punching her fist into her hand.

Chief Gooley held his hands up. "We don't know that yet. Yuri, I want you to dig. Find out everything you can about the Hujan President. Political motivations, old grudges, anything that could tell us why he might have done this. Go back as far as you have to. Kei, I want you to look for Vido Zulga. Go through our surveillance reports of the Syndicate. Try to find out where he was when you were sent to Ikaria. If we can find out where he was, maybe we can prove that the president sent us to where he wasn't."

"Got it, chief."

"OK. Dismissed."

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Kei briskly walked down the hallway. She saw Chief Gooley just coming out of his office. "Chief!" She waved at him, and ran up.

"What is it, Kei?"

"I found him."

The chief's eyes widened. "Let's talk." He led the way back into his office. "Janet, can you tell the director I'm going to be late for the meeting?" he said to his assistant as he and Kei went in. Once they were inside, the chief turned around to Kei. "What do you have?"

Kei handed him a photo. It showed a small spaceship in port. It was a little larger than the Lovely Angel, with an attacking leopard painted on the side. "That's the Gertrude, Zulga's personnel ship. Wherever he goes, he goes on that ship."

"Pretty distinctive."

"He has a new design painted on it every two weeks or so." Kei produced more photos, of the same ship, each one with different art. "But he is always on that ship or has it close by."

"And you found the ship."

She brought out some more photos. "These are from a couple of our Watcher drones. I had them enhanced."

All the pictures showed the Gertrude, although two of them showed it with a serpent design on the nose, and in the rest, the serpent design was gone, and the words "Duffy's Movers" had replaced it. "When were these taken?"

"These," Kei said, indicating the ones showing the serpent design, "were taken three weeks ago, and these," she pulled up the photos of the ship with the lettering, "are from last week."

"And where?"

"Both drones are stationed around the Giltarea Badlands. The photos clearly show him going in and then going out."

The chief considered that. "Not the ideal vacation spot, but a great place to get away from it all."

"Exactly. All the gravity wells make it too dangerous for heavy ships, and there are so many places to hide, it's not worth it to go in after him. And," she continued, pulling out a holographic projector and setting it on the chief's desk, "this is a 3-D map of the region." She activated the projector, showing the region of space known as the Badlands, with several small spots of different colors around it. "All of those dots are Watcher drones. You probably know that most of the major powers keep some around the area to monitor it. Since it's such a great sanctuary for criminals, they keep an eye on it just like we do. The ones in blue are ours, the ones in red belong to the Trelanite Empire, and the ones in yellow—"

"Huja Republic?"

"Bingo. They either knew where Vido Zulga was at the time, or should have known. They have as many Watchers around the Badlands as we do, covering the whole area. They should have seen him enter."

"Could the ship be a decoy?"

"I used the exact parameters in a search of our surveillance records of that time period, and nothing came up. And, he's never used decoys before, not with the Gertrude."

Gooley was honestly impressed, and his face showed it. "Good work, Kei." He continued. "Well, I checked out the Hujan intelligence reports. The ones that they sent us reported a high likelihood that Zulga was on Ikaria, but the sources were considered suspect by their agency. The reports were given a reliability rating of D minus, and put at the bottom of the pile."

"Until somebody dug them up and sent them to us as 'proof'. And since they were sent with reliable reports about Syndicate businesses on Ikaria, we accepted them without a second thought. Neat."

"So, now we're sure they sent us on a wild goose chase, the only question is why."

"I think Yuri had something on the line." Kei activated her comm and called Yuri.

"Kei, where are you?"

"In the chief's office. We found out where Zulga was, and it wasn't Ikaria."

"Good. Stay right where you are, I'm on the way."

A few minutes later, Yuri came into the chief's office, breathless, but with a smug look on her face. "I know why the president sent us." She put a data rod into the port on the chief's desk, and information came up on the monitor.

"The president's info?" asked Kei.

"Yep. Everything I could find. You know how relations between Huja and Ikaria haven't been so warm recently? Well, it wasn't always that way. In fact, the president's father was the ambassador to Ikaria. He grew up there."

"OK. How long was he there for?"

"His father was appointed ambassador when he was eight years old, and he was there until he was sent away to school at fourteen."

"So it had time to make an impression on him. But what kind of impression?"

"Not a very good one, apparently. Check out this paper he wrote in his junior year."

Kei read, "'A Comparative Study of Single Planet Governments.' So?"

"He compared the progress of fifteen different planets, including Ikaria, and came to the conclusion that Ikaria was the most backward of them all. That sentiment is also evident in other papers he wrote." She scrolled down. "This one makes the case for a new government on Ikaria, one that could 'lift the Ikarians out of the dark age they have fallen into.'"

"Interesting. Does he still think that way?"

"Sure looks like it. He was in the running for his party's nomination for president, but he lost and was tapped for vice-president. During the campaign, several of his speeches referred to the dangers of renormalizing relations with Ikaria. Apparently, it was an issue that the parties disagreed on. In one speech, he called it a 'hive of criminal activity' and a 'refugee crisis waiting to happen'."

"Sheesh. What did President Schwarz think of all this?"

"They were pretty close on the issue. There were rumors of an agenda to depose the Ikarian monarchy even before the administration was inaugurated. A few months later, President Schwarz was assassinated, and the war on the Syndicate took priority. Until now, apparently." Yuri turned to face Kei. "You said you found Zulga?"

Kei explained what she had found, and the three were silent for a moment. The chief spoke. "So now we know what they did and why, but that leaves us with the question, what now?"

Kei turned to the chief. "We go over there, and take it out on his hide!"

Yuri sighed. "Yes, beat up the president of one of the most powerful systems in the galaxy. Good thinking." To the chief, she said, "Can't we tell the press what we've found? Put it out there and expose him?"

"I don't know," said the chief. "The less 3WA is openly involved, the better. We don't want to get any more into the limelight than we already have."

"Hmm," said Yuri, and went back to the computer file. She scrolled until she found the part she wanted. "Yes. I think, yes. That'll work."

"What?"

Yuri looked at the chief and smiled sweetly. "Don't worry, chief. We'll handle it."

Kei looked at Yuri. "We will?"

Yuri's smile turned Cheshire as she looked back at the screen. "Yes, we will."

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Still having fun writing this, and I hope you're all having fun reading it. One more chapter left! Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

The Grand Hotel in Muktara City was one of the most luxurious on Huja, which made it one of the most luxurious in the galaxy. The best rooms, for the most prestigious or most high-paying guests, are in the three top floors. Yuri was in one of those rooms with her date.

He poured glasses of wine for both of them. Yuri caught a glimpse of the bottle, and saw it was of an excellent vintage.

The man brought the wine over to Yuri, who was sitting on the couch. "I hope you don't mind. I gave my man the night off. I thought we might want some alone time."

Yuri regarded him. He was an older man, old enough to be her father, but he oozed charm, and had an easy, relaxed way around people. Especially women, which was part of the reason so many had voted for him in the last election. The other part of the reason was that he was a long-time politician, with seniority on the Hujan council, and so was in an ideal position to take care of his constituents. He also happened to be the head of the loyal opposition on Huja. "Alone time sounds fine." She smiled sweetly.

"So you were telling me that you've been in Muktara for only a few days?"

"Yes, I was hoping to find work. I was involved in the local campaigns back home, and I decided to see if I could get an internship here."

"There are a number of internships open, especially for a talented girl like you. There's a lot of competition, though."

"Yes, I heard that it's easier if you have a sponsor."

The man took a sip from his wine glass. "I might be able to help with that. But, dinner first. I'll go check on it." He got up and went to the kitchen.

Yuri's earring hissed in her ear as soon as the politician left the room. "Enjoying yourself?"

Yuri turned to speak into her earring. "As it turns out, yes."

Kei was in the room right below theirs, watching the goings on with an infrared scope. "I can't believe you like this sleazeball."

"You've been hearing him. He's quite charming."

"Quite oily, is more like it. Look, we've got him alone, he's unmonitored by anyone else. Tell him."

"Not yet."

"Tell him now!"

"Not yet, it's not the right time."

"Yuri, if you let this go beyond dinner, I'll…" Kei broke off as the man came back into the living room.

"Dinner's ready. Shall we?" He offered his arm, which Yuri took, and led her into the dining room.

Dinner consisted of a fine brisket, generous helpings of Ionian potatoes and Mrubic beans, and more of the excellent wine. The politician did most of the talking, regaling Yuri (and Kei) with some of the more interesting tales of life in the Council. Yuri had never been very interested in politics, and so was surprised to find herself listening intently to every word.

Once dinner was over, the man took Yuri by the hand and said, "Perhaps now we can discuss a sponsorship." He led her back to the living room.

Kei spoke into her mike. "Yuri, now."

"Do you know someone that might be willing to help me?"

"I think I could. As a matter of fact, I know of a position in my own office that's been tragically unfilled for many weeks now."

Kei was getting agitated. "Yuri, I'm warning you."

"Oh, Councilman, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Nonsense. You're obviously a lady with intelligence and drive, and I have many needs you'd be ideal for."

"Sounds wonderful."

Kei heard the tone of Yuri's voice, and her patience finally ran out. "Oh, forget this!" she said, leaping up from the bed and grabbing her gun. She got her room key, went out into the hall, and charged up the stairs, all the while yelling, "No-no-no-no-no-no!" She reached the room, and kicked in the door. She found the man and Yuri on the couch, obviously just having been in the middle of a kiss. The man stood up, placing himself between Kei and Yuri in a protective stance. Kei held her gun at her side, but gripped it tightly. She said, "All right, Yuri, it's over. Step away from the geezer, slowly."

"Kei, why do you have to spoil all my dates?"

The old man looked back at Yuri, then at Kei. "Wait a minute. Yuri? And Kei? Why, you two are the—"

"Don't say it!" the two women yelled simultaneously.

"—Lovely Angels," the man completed his sentence. "That is your official name, isn't it? So much more fitting than the other. I hate the name, 'Dirty Pair'"

Kei holstered her weapon. "Wow. You were right, Yuri. He is kind of charming."

Yuri leaned into her date as she looked at Kei. "Told you," she said to her partner.

Kei pulled a data rod out of her pouch and held it up. "Mr. Councilman, I am sorry to interrupt, but I have something you might be interested in."

An hour later, the councilman got up from his workstation and walked back to the couch where the Lovely Angels were sitting. He handed the data rod back to Yuri with a rueful smile. "Not exactly the way I expected this night to go."

Yuri took the rod. "I hope that isn't too much of a disappointment."

The councilman looked straight at Yuri. "Actually, it's a very grave disappointment. In fact," he sat down next to her, "I would never forgive myself if I didn't ask you out to dinner again."

"Well, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't say yes."

Kei interjected. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. So," she said, looking at the councilman, "can you use the info?"

The councilman nodded. "Oh, I can use it. I assume you'd like no mention of where this came from?"

"Right. 3WA wants its name left out."

"I have some sources I've used before. I'm sure they won't mind taking credit. And now that you've shown me where to look, I'm sure we'll find even more evidence." He stood up. "Thank you so much, ladies. Remind me never to get on your bad side." The girls stood up as well. "So, are you going back now?"

"Actually, there's someone we need to see first."

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The next afternoon, the Hujan Presidential Office was a hive of activity. The new revelations about the war on Ikaria had broken like a thunderstorm, and everyone was running around for cover. The president was on the phone with one of his advisors. "Yes, I know, Ed. Oh, of course not! You know me better than that! Well, just-. Damnit, Ed, just handle it, OK!" He slammed the phone down.

The door opened and his aide came in. "Sir?"

The president sighed. "What now?"

"Sir, some reporters are still out there."

"You gave them our statement, right?"

"Yes, but they're not buying it. Maybe we should-"

"What do you mean, they're not buying it? I'm not some criminal trying to come up with an alibi, I'm the President! Tell 'em that!"

"Yessir." The aide scurried out. A few minutes, later, the president heard two female voices behind him.

"Gee, Mr, President, you're seeming a little high-strung."

"Maybe you should have a glass of _goma_ juice. That always calms me down."

The President turned to see Kei and Yuri lounging on the couch. The guard who had been standing by the wall was unconscious on the floor. "How did you get in?"

Kei sat up. "We've had to break into a wide variety of places, Mr. President. With all due respect, this was no great challenge."

"You know, you'd think that security would be tighter, considering what happened to the last President."

"I guess it's hard to find good help these days."

The president remained seated. "Look, I'm very busy. What do you want?"

Kei looked at Yuri, then back at the president. "Oh, nothing. Just thought we'd say hi; how're you doing?"

"This isn't a good time."

"Oh, and Councilor C------ says hello."

The president was silent for a moment as he made the connection. "You two! You gave him the information! I was wondering how that pervert found out so much so fast."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was the truth supposed to be a secret?" Kei stood up to walk over to the president's desk. She idly picked up a photo and looked at it.

"You ladies just don't understand. Ikaria was a threat to us, especially with the War against the Syndicate. We had no choice."

"It's a backwater. How much of a threat could it have been?" asked Yuri.

The president held up his finger for emphasis. "Exactly! A backwater. Do you realize they've been a backwater ever since the planet was settled? They've never had elections in their history. They were constantly under the influence of this power or that, until everyone just forgot about them and the Syndicate moved in. Now, they're no longer in control, and we're planning on elections next year. In a few years, they'll finally join the ranks of the civilized planets of this galaxy."

Kei put the photo down. "What about the fighting? How many people are going to wind up dying for those elections?"

"Syndicate thugs and a few people they were able to fool with their lies. A small price to pay. Ikaria will be a shining beacon for democracy and peace in the galaxy. You'll see, and you'll wish you hadn't stood against me. You'll see that I was right!"

"Fine, Mr. President. Maybe you're right. Maybe this will be a turning point in Ikarian history. Maybe Ikaria will hail you as a hero in five years. Maybe they'll even build a statue of you in the center of the capital. But that's not the issue. How we feel about the invasion is not why we blew the whistle." Kei leaned in closer, and spoke softly. "You lied to us, Mr. President."

"What?"

"You lied. And we really don't like being used."

Kei got up from the desk as Yuri stood up. They went to the window and put on their jetpacks that they had stashed behind the couch. "The truth will ouch, Mr. President," Kei said, just before she and Yuri flew off.

The door burst open, and several guards ran in, followed by the president's aide. "Sir, are you all right?"

"It's all right, I'm fine."

"Sorry, sir, but the security monitors for this section went out. When we couldn't contact the agent here, we came as fast as we could."

An agent came up. "Sir, we can still catch the assailants. I'll order a pursuit."

"No," said the president.

"Sir?"

"Let them go, it's all right." The president looked out the window at a rapidly receding pair of 3WA agents. "When you get right down to it, they're good girls. They just don't understand the big picture."

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Kei and Yuri sat at an outdoor table at a café downtown. They clinked their wine glasses in a toast. "All right! I'd call that a job well done," said Kei.

"Um hmmm. So, Kei, the chief gave us three days off. Where do you want to go?"

"Not sure. I was thinking we could visit Tim in the hospital? It's not far from here."

"I wouldn't dream of being a third wheel! Why don't I just leave you two alone? Maybe you can help him with his rehab."

"Why, thanks Yu--. Wait a minute. Why are you being so nice?

Yuri shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"Uh huh. You just want me out of the way, so you can see that geezer again!"

Yuri put on her innocent face. "Whatever could you mean?"

"You're hopeless, Yuri!"

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I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. The Dirty Pair's, er, Lovely Angels', dialogue was an absolute joy to write. The subject of this story was partly inspired by the Dirty Pair story, War, by MegelomaniacUrashima. I was originally going to finish this by Election Day, 2006, but it was delayed. Fortunately, the good guys won anyway. Politics aside, I hope you enjoyed the story. Thanks a lot for reading, and please review! Reviews are air and water to writers.


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